Cage for tapered roller bearings

Abstract

A cage for a tapered roller bearing includes a small diameter ring, a large diameter ring and circumferentially spaced arms joining the rings and defining pockets for the tapered rollers. The inwardly facing opposite surfaces of the arms in a pocket including an axial region adjoining the large diameter ring, which is also radially outside of the mold parting line developed during the formation of the cage. Those surfaces of the arms in the region adjoining the large side ring of the cage are shaped to the roller within the packet. In each cylindrical sectional plane through the bearing, which also passes through each of the rollers and is parallel to the axis of the bearing, the distance apart of the surfaces of the arms is approximately the length of a chord of the largest diameter of the roller in that cylindrical sectional plane. The large diameter ring of the cage has a radially inwardly directed projection which extends outside the lip on the bearing inner ring and a surface of the inner ring facing the projection is obliquely inclined outwardly moving radially inwardly from the large diameter ring.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A cage for a tapered roller bearing, wherein the bearing comprises an outer ring, an inner ring radially inward of and spaced from the outer ring and a complement of tapered rollers disposed between the inner and the outer rings for rolling thereover with relative rotation of the rings, each tapered roller having a larger roller diameter section and a smaller roller diameter section and the roller tapering from the larger to the smaller diameter; the cage for the bearing being a window cage with a plurality of pockets for receiving the rollers; the cage having a small side ring of smaller outer diameter; the cage having a large side ring of larger outer diameter; the cage having a plurality of arms spaced circumferentially around and joining the side rings, and neighboring ones of the arms defining respective pockets each for receiving a tapered roller; the arms which define a pocket for one of the rollers having respective surfaces opposite each other that face toward each other and toward the roller in the pocket;   at the surface of at least one of the arms in a pocket in the axial region generally adjoining the large side ring of the cage, the surface in that region being adapted to the profile of the roller in that in every cylindrically shaped sectional plane through the bearing, and therefore through the rollers of the bearing, and the sectional plane being parallel to the axis of the bearing, the surface being shaped so that the distance apart of the surfaces in the pocket is approximately the length of a chord of the roller in that cylindrical sectional plane in the region of the largest diameter of the roller.   
     
     
       2. A cage for a tapered roller bearing, wherein the bearing comprises an outer ring, an inner ring radially inward of and spaced from the outer ring and a complement of tapered rollers disposed between the inner and the outer rings for rolling thereover with relative rotation of the rings, each tapered roller having a larger roller diameter section and a smaller roller diameter section and the roller tapering from the larger to the smaller diameter; the cage for the bearing being a window cage with a plurality of pockets for receiving the rollers; the cage having a small side ring of smaller outer diameter; the cage having a large side ring of larger outer diameter; the cage having a plurality of arms spaced circumferentially around and joining the side rings, and neighboring ones of the arms defining respective pockets each for receiving a tapered roller; the arms which define a pocket for one of the rollers having respective surfaces opposite each other that face toward each other and toward the roller in the pocket;   at the surface of both of the arms in a pocket in the axial region generally adjoining the large side ring of the cage, the facing surfaces in that region being adapted to the profile of the roller in that in every cylindrically shaped sectional plane through the bearing, and therefore through the rollers of the bearing, and the sectional plane being parallel to the axis of the bearing, the facing surfaces being shaped so that the distance apart of the surfaces in the pocket is approximately the length of a chord of the roller in that cylindrical sectional plane in the region of the largest diameter of the roller.   
     
     
       3. The cage of claim 2, wherein the cage has defined in it a mold parting line which is at one of the cylindrical sectional planes parallel to the axis of the bearing and which parallels the axis of the bearing; the axial regions of the surfaces which adjoin the larger diameter side ring being located radially outside the mold parting line. 
     
     
       4. The cage of claim 2, wherein the large side ring has a radially inward side and the small side ring has a radially outward side, the radially outward side of the small side ring is radially more inward than the radially more inward side of the large side ring. 
     
     
       5. The cage of claim 4, wherein the cage has defined in it a mold parting line which is at one of the cylindrical sectional planes parallel to the axis of the bearing and which parallels the axis of the bearing; the axial regions of the surfaces which adjoin the larger diameter side ring being located radially outside the mold parting line. 
     
     
       6. The cage of claim 5, wherein the radially inward side of the large side ring is at the radial location of the mold parting line. 
     
     
       7. The cage of claim 2, wherein in the axial region adjoining the small side ring, the arms also having opposite surfaces facing toward each other and toward the roller and the pocket and the opposite surfaces in this region adjoining the small side ring being generally shaped to conform to the shape of the roller in the pocket in the region axially adjoining the small side ring. 
     
     
       8. The cage of claim 7, wherein the cage has defined in it a mold parting line which is the mold parting line being at one of the cylindrical sectional planes parallel to the axis of the bearing and which parallels the axis of the bearing; the axial regions of the surfaces which adjoin the larger diameter side ring being located radially outside the mold parting line; and the surfaces of the arms in the axial region adjoining the small side ring being radially inward of the mold parting line.   
     
     
       9. The cage of claim 2, wherein the large side ring includes an approximately radially inwardly directed projection for extending radially inwardly over the inner ring of the bearing. 
     
     
       10. A tapered roller bearing, comprising an outer ring, an inner ring radially inward of and spaced from the outer ring and a complement of tapered rollers disposed between the inner and the outer rings for rolling thereover with relative rotation of the rings, each tapered roller having a larger roller diameter section and a smaller roller diameter section and the roller tapering in diameter from the larger to the smaller diameter; a window cage for the bearing with a plurality of pockets for receiving the rollers; the cage having a small side ring of smaller outer diameter; the cage having a large side ring of larger outer diameter; the cage having a plurality of arms spaced circumferentially around and joining the side rings, and neighboring ones of the arms defining respective pockets each for receiving one of the tapered rollers; the arms which define a pocket for one of the rollers having respective surfaces opposite each other that face toward each other and toward the roller in the pocket;   at the surface of both of the arms in a pocket in the axial region generally adjoining the large side ring of the cage, the facing surfaces in that region being adapted to the profile of the roller in that in every cylindrically shaped sectional plane through the bearing, and therefore through the rollers of the bearing, and the sectional plane being parallel to the axis of the bearing, the facing surfaces being shaped so that the distance apart of the surfaces in the pocket is approximately the length of a chord of the roller in that cylindrical sectional plane in the region of the largest diameter of the roller.   
     
     
       11. The bearing of claim 10, wherein the large side ring includes an approximately radially inwardly directed projection for extending radially inwardly over the inner ring of the bearing. 
     
     
       12. The bearing of claim 11, wherein the inner ring includes a lip disposed axially outward of the rollers and radially inward of the large side ring of the cage. 
     
     
       13. The bearing of claim 12, wherein the inner ring lip includes an obliquely inclined surface, inclined axially outwardly of the rollers gradually radially inwardly from the large side ring of the cage and the projection from the large side ring extending over the obliquely inclined surface of the inner ring.